@Tyranexx Worry about it? Haha, WAY ahead of you, ma'am. Already done and dusted. I usually just take a bit of time off, which acts as a cool down period, and after that, everything is just fine again, so no worries there.
But as you also know, we can't stay away from the Chit-Chat thread for too long, unless you're willing to browse through a back log of four pages or more to be able to catch up...
@Heavyarms55 I just can't wait for the car to die. I'd sell my soul to make it happen instantly. We've invented the internet and VR, and all kinds of inventions, and we're told constantly all that progress and rapid change is a good thing...yet we're effectively still building our entire civilization around a transportation device that effectively hasn't changed in almost 100 years. Oh the mechanisms improved...they go faster, start faster, turn faster, stop faster, have all kinds of safety devices, but at the core of it, it's still a freaking 1920's machine that operates like a 1920's machine. They, and the roads they run on, were designed for a world in which the population was 1/5 the size, there was one car per household of multi-generational homes, and only the male population drove. They are entirely obsolete for our current world. We were supposed to have flying cars. We have the functionality of automatic cars and an interconnected tram system...but now...we still have ten million people all going at the same place at the same time, every day, via the same route, all in control of their own randomly moving devices, and millions of them collide every day as a result.
China...freaking China...is starting to mandate the cities are redesigned for autonomous cars only. No parking lots permitted in new construction, just a traffic loop for drop-off/pickup. The designed is intended to require that everyone doesn't bring a whole care and leave it there, you just rent random tram cars to take you where you're going as an auto-cab. Brilliant!
Rarely, very rarely, do I ever agree with the Chinese government on anything, but in this case, I'm actually going to say they're the only ones getting it right. How many more centuries are we going to sell dressed up model T's and moving ourselves around like it's a century ago?
There was an interview with the Chrysler CEO a while back that kind of indicated the reality. They know that's the future. They're working on building the systems for the vast "fleet" type systems that will become the norm. But they're going to forestall it to keep the status quo going as long as they can.
@Ninfan Ios is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long and wide, with an area of. Population was 2,024 in 2011. Ios is part of the Thira regional unit
@NEStalgia - If a car flies, is it still a car? It’s hard to imagine Chrysler at the forefront of anything. They’ve made money pits since the 90s, and they’ve been bailed out, sold, and re sold for the last two decades. I’d be much more interested in what Honda or Toyota view as the future of automobiles as they’ve been at the forefront of innovation.
@bimmy-lee Considering Toyota's biggest expense is into robotics, I think it's pretty clear what their view is. Plus they all want part of that fat impending Chinese automation money. And, like with wireless communication, what China does determines what the world does. In this case, I'm rooting for China to do it bigger, better, and faster to force the world's hand as rapidly as possible. Just this once.
Well, I should be more specific - the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler. Chrysler's a dead corpse, it's just a brand under the otherwise successful and meaningful Fiat umbrella. And for them, they already are aware of and planning for the eventual exit of the whole sales & dealer model and the world moving to automated fleet cars, and expect to be their own operator/agency in part. They're just committed to stalling it until it can't be stalled anymore to bag as much money off the old system as they can before it's gone for good.
They're the combustion engine version of Comcast. "If we can keep 2Mb/s the standard speed for just another 30 years and leverage our scale to make it happen....."
I'm tempted to comment on that Fortnite lawsuit article, but the comment section scared me away. I doubt that case will get very far, but I suppose that depends on the competency of the lawyer(s) involved.
@ThanosReXXX Heh, I figured as much. Just thought I'd offer my own take on the matter as I'm gradually working on improving my own ability to not dwell on matters too much. The added stress certainly isn't worth it. We can't win 'em all.
Unfortunately I'll have to be way less involved with the site this week. Most of my days/evenings for the next week are pretty much booked. @_@ Not to mention most of the rest of the month is also pretty full, but next week, at least so far, shouldn't be as bonkers.
@NEStalgia - I think Chrysler still does have a US based CEO, but it’s probably more of a figurehead position, there to relay whatever (non) plans Fiat has for the line. We never should have bailed them out, it’s okay for companies to die, especially if it’s by their own doing. I’m very curious to see what happens with GM in that regard over the next decade.
It does seem like autonomous vehicles might be the next step, which would be an enormous innovation concerning how an automobile is piloted. I think we’ll reach a new, clean fuel source first; which might be even more important than keeping tailgating idiots from smashing bumpers. I still contend that the last 20 years has seen more innovation in how we safely and efficiently arrive at our destinations than the previous 50 years combined.
@Tyranexx Well, better prepare yourself for having to play the regular 4 or 5 page catch up game...
@bimmy-lee We could also have floating cars, much like how they're always portrayed in science fiction movies. I'd like to have a full-sized four person Star Wars Landspeeder convertible...
Be sure to also watch some of the other "amazing gadgets" videos from this channel, some of which will be shown in the table on the right of this video, if you go to the actual YouTube page.
@bimmy-lee Both GM & Chrysler have decided that commodity cars have no profit since Asia owns that, so it's all about luxury, SUV,s and unique muscle cars at high profit margins. For now, in a "booming economy" (I still don't get the booming economy..."inflation" is masked by simply diminishing value of products at the same prices, allegedly people are spending more money than ever, yet everything stagnated and shrank....who's getting all this spending money?) that plan works well as plenty are paying premium (apparently?) for aesthetics and exclusivity. But that plan tanks the next recession.
Automation isn't just about road safety, though that's sorely needed...people are paying less attention, and are more aggressive than ever. Pedestrians get mowed down at record pace....even on sidewalks. Cell phones broke cars. The two can't coexist in the same society. So we need to pick one...and the car is easier to automate.
But it's not just about "safety" - it's convenience, yes. It's cost (with more and more different things to spend money on in the modern world, and things you HAVE to spend money on, that would reduce transportation costs at large.) And it's about traffic flow.....the hour long gridlock to move 3 miles is because there are too many people on the road....you either eliminate people (my favored option), or eliminate their cars. Automation would change the entire business model of cars, on purpose. It would basically fuse cars/busses/taxis into one system of fleet cars you'd summon like a cab, that would replace the need for busses (automated shared transit systems that go anywhere rather than a route), are centrally managed, gives Big Brother a way to monitor everyone's movements to levels not even the SS could have dreamed of. So instead of one car per person going somewhere, parking somewhere, etc, it would be one car per person that needs to go somewhere RIGHT NOW, with plenty on standby. Or, at least, that's China's current development model and what Chrysler was hinting at. It's major economic upheaval, but why is it that when it comes to cars that's "bad" but when it came to the internet and phones it was "good"?
The same reason we bailed out Chrysler 900 times.
No, the tailgating idiots should be slaughtered, as painfully as is possible, in public view like the Romans would have done, as the absolute first priority if we're not going to simply obsolete them via automation. We can burn pure uranium in every engine until that happens for all I care. Of course you live in the saner part of the US. Here, nobody even bothers to pretend they actually observe the rules. They just do what they want because they know they won't get caught. Red lights mean "check for cops, then go faster." Even school buses just run the lights. Partly because they've made everything so gridlocked you often wait 7-8 minutes at a single light. Seeing people driving in the wrong lane through oncoming traffic is a thrice daily occurrence, nevermind the "no passing" signs. Not enough road to turn? You have an SUV, just scale the curb! There's only laws if there's a cop around, and there's only 1 cop per 20,000 people. I want to see a military grade crackdown on the roads. Armored checkpoints at every intersection. People won't actually behave if they're not terrified into behaving, unfortunately. It's like Arkham Rushhour. Everyone here is a criminal to begin with.
Armored checkpoints is a government spending project, how could they refuse?
@ThanosReXXX - Wow, that Land Speeder is very cool. My kids would love one, and by that I mean I would love my kids to ask my parents for one so I could have it. I’d drive it to the pub. The magnet video is mesmerizing, especially the Sand Script and Mega Levitator devices. I’m fascinated by the thought of magnetic propulsion, though I know very little about it.
That video reminded me that I forgot to say something when you posted those cool science toy videos a few weeks ago. I had some of those as a kid, and they’re just as cool today. I remember doing the dollar bill flip endlessly as a kid trying to understand how it was even possible. I think I decided it must be black magic. Dark arts. Whatever that device was that produced a rainbow spectrum was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I want one for my coffee table.
@bimmy-lee Me too, but on the other hand, I'm always suspicious of some of these toys doing some kind of damage to humans, such as being toxic, emitting radiation or causing blindness or impaired vision. Staring into an artificial rainbow at close range for prolonged periods of time literally can't be good for the eyes, if you ask me. But it most definitely looks cool, and it'd make a nice party toy.
P.S.
If you liked that video, you should also watch the other "amazing gadgets" video, that pops up at the end of it.
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@Tyranexx Rude? For the life of me, I wouldn't be able to come up with any kind of plausible scenario in which I would even possibly consider you to be that, even if I tried.
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@ThanosReXXX I had like 3 "rail twirlers" as a kid. I couldn't help myself from playing with it for some reason. Those were great. I love the mega levatator....that's technically the coolest. The magnetic putty is absolutely terrifying though. The way it absorbs and engulfs the weight.......
@NEStalgia The first thing that popped into my head was: "oh no, a real-life version of The Blob"...
And when I saw the mega levitator, and the guy putting an actual brick onto it, I caught my self loudly exclaiming "no way!"...
But all of those toys made me smile. I just wished I had more spare money and time. Might go looking for that slow falling ball, though...
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@Tyranexx Well, I suppose each of us has the capacity to display any kind of trait familiar to humankind, but the thing is that a lot of us never will, or simply stopped doing it. (looking at myself concerning aggression problems in my youth, which I've now learned to micro-manage)
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
@NEStalgia It's actually the other way around. The ''magnetic putty'' contains small iron particles, and the weight is the magnet. Less impressive that way, but still cool
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